John Evans
Journalist and Critic, BBC Music Magazine
Recent articles by John Evans
‘What a giftless bastard!': when composers tear into each other
Sparks fly and verbal venom is spat, as John Evans explores the great names who simply loved to take potshots at each other
The drunk conductor who ruined a great symphony's premiere
John Evans takes a look at the great works that, while much adored and respected today, all got off to a horribly shaky start
The Franz Liszt thong, the Mozart bra... and 13 more dubious classical composer brands
Franz Liszt has lent his name to a thong, Mozart to a bra, and Chopin to a bidet. Welcome to the bizarre world of composer branding...
Gull attacks, naked wanderings and furious flirting: 15 calamitous concert cancellations
John Evans presents a potted history of
audience disappointment as he takes a look at some of classical music’s more intriguing, and unexpected, no-shows
Muzak: the fascinating story of music's much-derided kid brother
Banal at its best, stress-inducing at its worst, the phenomenon of background muzak can be traced largely to one man. John Evans tells the sorry tale
Music from memory: pros and cons of playing music without the score
How do you learn music by heart? The classical music world is mixed in its views towards playing music without the score, but when does it help or hinder a performance?
Memorising music: top tips for learning music by heart
How do leading musicians go about learning huge amounts of music off by heart? John Evans investigates the art of memorising music.